Populism’s Co-opting of Religion

Europe finds itself navigating a state of Euroscepticism, xenophobia,
and right-wing populist movements. At its core, populism pits the ‘pure people’
versus the ‘corrupt elite’. For different groups, this means different things. Most
attribute populist rhetoric as nationalistic and socio-economically driven. Religion
offers many benefits for populist groups, yet is overlooked in much of the
literature. This article attempts to highlight that populist group also draw
upon religion as a means to rally ‘the people’.

By basing their identity in Christian
culture, populists thus require something to stand in opposition to their
ideals and their ‘people’. David French elaborates this point by arguing that populism
typically
uses mass mobilization against an opposing force. Islam has typically
filled this role. This is likely due to the recent immigration crisis that
Europe recently faced. Susi Meret and Andreas Beyer Gregerson argue that Islam
has transformed into a floating signifier for the Danish People’s Party. They
go on to say that “Islam is represented as a main religious and cultural
challenger that threatens national identity and security”. National identity
here is not limited to the Danish case. Rather any populist group can argue
this. Donald Trump has attempted repeatedly to impose a travel ban on Middle Eastern
countries because any
Muslim could be a threat. The simple fact that a person can be banned because
they come from a country where Islam is practiced may seem ludicrous to most,
but this type of action and rhetoric strikes a cord with right-wing populists.

It is clear that right-wing
populist groups are using religion as an identity, one that they can coopt to
represent ‘the pure people’. Populist leader Viktor Orban has recently changed
the branding of his government from an “Illberal
democracy” to that of a “Christian democracy”. Going further Orban stated
earlier this year that “Unless
we protect our Christian culture we will lose Europe and Europe will no longer
belong to Europeans”. This eludes to the Orban governments stance against
immigration, by tying this to Christian culture. Orban has been able to appeal
to those who may not be religious but do view immigration negatively. In the
case of Hungary, it is clear that the government is becoming increasingly anti
immigration and opposed to multiculturalism, likely due to Orban’s coopting of
Christian culture.

Unfortunately, this trend overall
seems to be growing, as the new European Commission, which has yet to be
created, has already got a taste of populist backlash. In this case, the wound
was self inflicted, as according to some, the proposed vice president of “Protecting
Our European Way of Life” echoes the far-right rhetoric. This sparked an immediate
response from the left with critics arguing that this position title identifies
Europe as white and Christian, and migration from the Middle East and Africa as
a threat to that identity. This example demonstrates that right-wing populist
groups are now being closely identified with Christian values. More importantly,
it appears that both the populist and the ‘other’ are both starting to see
right-wing populism through the lens of religion.